


Supplementary Material: What does Section 9 Smell Like?

by CyanideBreathmint



Category: Ghost in the Shell (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Other, Supplementary Material, ghost in the shell sac headcanons, perfume headcanon, scent porn, spoilers for gits sac and 2nd gig
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-14
Updated: 2021-03-14
Packaged: 2021-03-21 20:00:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,383
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30027060
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CyanideBreathmint/pseuds/CyanideBreathmint
Summary: As you already have known, I'm kind of obsessed with dapper dressing, perfumes, guns, nice cars, good food, and competence porn. Today, I turn my focus to think of what the various Section 9 team members may smell like. This is headcanon for my general fic purposes, but if you want to look at me blathering along about scent for hundreds of words, by all means, come hang out!
Relationships: None
Comments: 4
Kudos: 2





	Supplementary Material: What does Section 9 Smell Like?

**The Chief:** The Chief feels like someone who would use something very classic because it's part of the uniform, like his incredibly dapper suits, but he'd wear it well and wear it sexily because he's the kind of man who has great charisma and authority simply from experience and will. I mean, he's the Chief. He's obviously Proto's original model for sartorial ideals, given the fact that the both of them wear earth tones in suits, and Proto's around him all the time. Look at that amazing waistcoat in Solid State Society, or the two-tone lapel/collar roll where the lapels are the main color of the coat but the collar itself is the color of his waistcoat? That's eccentric, daring, audacious, everything I would say the Chief is, but also always well within the bounds of tradition. So I'd give him a real classic. Penhaligon Blenheim Bouquet, originally formulated in 1902. Amalfi lemon, lime and lavender; base notes are pine, black pepper and musk.

 **The Major:** She's unabashedly feminine despite the pressures of her job, for obvious reasons. She continues to use a female chassis in most of 1st and 2nd seasons so she can keep wearing that dainty watch she's got. She does branch out to other prosthetic bodies in Solid State Society, but I think as herself she would wear an unapologetically feminine scent. Chanel No.5 is a classic, but she doesn't feel like the kind of woman who would wear No.5. No, I think she wears Chanel Bois Des Iles Parfum, which takes the woody end of women's fragrance and adds a little "oriental" floral. Sandalwood, gingerbread, ylang-ylang, damask rose, vetiver, jasmine, vanilla bean, tonka bean, bitter almond. 

**Batou:** I mentioned him smelling spicy in Kinephantom Ch 5, but I also imagine he doesn't use a lot of it. He probably wouldn't pick something that had a lot of projection or sillage like say, I imagine Paz might. He wants to smell good in close proximity, not to announce it to the world. So I'd give him a woody spicy instead of anything more aromatic. A fragrance that clings to the skin and the clothes but not the air. I also want to pick something more conventional as opposed to a niche perfume brand (Comme des Garçons, my personal favorite brand, is right on the edge of niche, it's so eclectic) so I'd say... Tom Ford Oud Wood. Agarwood, brazilwood, sandalwood, vanilla, sichuan pepper, cardamom, vetiver, tonka bean, amber.

 **Ishikawa:** Ishikawa strikes me as old-school and wholly masculine in the "sure, I've fucked a guy once to see if I liked it, but boobs are so soft and nice, you know?" way, being not really questioning of his heterocisness, but not insecure about anything either. He would wear something classic and stick to it instead of having specific seasonal ways to smell. So he wouldn't be going out of the traditional men's perfumes range, but he'd pick something really good you can wear forever. For him I'd choose a classic fougere, with mossy/foresty notes. and a leather base note. So... the classic, Hermès Bel Ami. Sage, bergamot, cardamom, mandarin orange and lemon; middle notes are carnation, patchouli, cedar, basil, orris root and jasmine; base notes are leather, oakmoss, styrax, vetiver, amber, vanilla and coconut.

 **Togusa:** Togusa probably didn't pick his cologne. His wife did. He wears it because he trusts her judgment, and because he likes the idea of smelling nice for her especially when they can both snatch a quiet moment together and snuggle in the evening, when the kids are both asleep and when he orders out so she doesn't have to cook. To that end I'd actually put him in a less overtly masculine scent because he's not insecure and because she chose it, and she's not insecure about her honey either. To that end... Acqua di Parma Colonia, lavender, rosemary, Sicilian citrus, Bulgarian rose, jasmine, amber and light musk.

 **Paz:** Oh. Paz. Paz would wear something that would stand out. He would wear something that stays behind so you know he's there, but not in a cloying way. He would wear something you can smell on him. Out of all the guys at Section 9 he'd be the most dramatic and daring with scent, if only because it also has to compete with his chain-smoking. (A lot of cops and such smoke, partly because it helps you deal with the smell of decomposed bodies if/when you do find them, and it eventually becomes a social ritual.) I'd say... YSL Kouros. Synthetic aldehydes (like violets), coriander, wormwood, clary sage, bergamot top notes, patchouli and oriental florals like jasmine and geranium, vetiver and cinnamon for middle notes, deep and profound base notes of civet, musk and leather, honey, amber, tonka bean, oakmoss. YSL Kouros on the right guy with the right confidence (as opposed to a nebbish who uses LOUD scent to project the confidence he lacks) is a top-notch panty-dropper everywhere, which seems to fit him very well. 

**Saito:** Saito feels like the kind of guy who would go with something light and breezy but with depth to it. Not because he's afraid of too heavy a scent, but because it suits his style. Probably nothing stronger than an EDT or EDC formulation, he doesn't feel like an EDP guy. For him it's about the faint hints you catch when he's close by, showing you how to aim a pistol at a range, or when you're sparring with him hand-to-hand to stay in practice. Sometimes you catch it on the cushions of the couch in the breakroom, still warm from where he was reading his newspaper, the ring of condensation from his cold canned coffee still on the coffee table. So here's a Comme des Garçons! Incense series Kyoto. Hinoki incense, cypress oil, coffee, teak wood, patchouli, amber, cedar and immortal flower

 **Borma:** Borma can tell what explosives are used in a bombing by sniffing the aftermath. In GitS Arise he's a hobbyist cook. This gives me the impression he'd be discerning, and also not particularly caring for anything too intense. He wants a scent that probably fits around him like a comfy old sweater, but also smells good... probably a masculine gourmand, a spicy one, I think. To that end: Serge Lutens Five O'Clock Au Gingembre. Tea and Bergamot; middle notes are Ginger, Cinnamon and Woodsy Notes; base notes are Pepper, Honey, Amber, Cacao and Patchouli. Basically it smells to many people like Earl Grey with delicious ginger cookies on a rainy day. THAT is Borma's vibe. 

**Azuma:** Azuma is a bro. He's a reliable bro, and someone who would die beside you in a gunfight, but not until he's given better than he got. But he's still a bro, still a bit impulsive, and as we see in canon, also fast-and-loose enough to bum a fucking joint off someone in Dejima. Azuma, I'd hate you, except you're still somehow intensely lovable and very skilled where it matters, else you wouldn't still be in Section 9. He probably uses body spray *shudder*. Given that, I'd give him um. Oh god. Axe body spray. 

**Proto:** Proto is fun to assign a scent to, because he's at once a little naive and also very sophisticated. Since most of my fic is centered around him, I may be reading a bit into how he dresses and codes in the animators' depictions of him. He doesn't feel very concerned with being manly, but he is a very beautiful and well-polished man. To that end, I don't so much assign him a perfume as much as have someone pick it for him (it'll happen in future fic, for the record this is published before I finished Kinephantom and he gets it after that fic, over Christmas). I gave him Guerlain L'Homme Ideal EDT, btw, because I wanted something masculine without being stereotypically masculine: almond-amaretto and citrus notes, boozy-gourmand, with a leather/cedar base. Scrumptious. It's a solid fall/winter daily wear, in any case. For warmer weather he wears Versace Pour Homme, which is a very unobtrusive, almost stereotypical "I'm at the office" guy's scent on the surface. Citrus and orange blossom, cedar and sage, but with a gourmand tonka bean note to the musky base.


End file.
